Catastrophe-Adventure in Mt. Moon
by pkchampion
Summary: Intro to a certain villain (or villains)...we all catch stuff...this is a story prior to The Champion, wiht all the characters from before the pokemon league...if you didn't read The Champion, you don't need that knowledge to read this one. If you did rea


Catastrophe:  
The Story of the Sand  
  
Summary: For those of you who read my story The Champion-a Pokémon league story, you know about the Catastrophe bit. This happened before The Champion did, by the way. If you didn't read it...oh well. Just read this one anyway.  
Disclaimer: I don't own anything that someone owned before me.  
  
"I'll never be any good at this!" I cried, frustrated. I had just missed a catch for the fifth time in a row. And this one had been the easiest one yet! "It was already sleeping, for heaven's sake! Why can't I catch anything?"  
"I'm staying out of this one," said Ryan Kerrings. The 12-year-old was one of my traveling companions.  
"Smart decision, for once." That was Tori Jereb, my best friend and 13-year-old companion. "Usually you are too far into it!" She did have a point.   
We were on the road to Mt. Moon, a huge mountain known for its rare Pokémon, like Clefairy and Paras. There were also these annoying Zubat flying everywhere. Also, Geodudes were falling everywhere. I think one hit Joe Lawrence, our resident 10-year-old, and newest trainer.   
By the time we reached the entrance to the actual cave part of Mt. Moon, I had just about had it with the uphill bit. Plus, I'd been hit with my fair share of Geodudes myself. There was a Pokémon Center up near the tunnel, and we all thought it was a good idea to stop there.   
We gave our Pokémon to Joy, then sat down in the eating area and had some dinner.   
"I think we should get flashlights or something," said Tori, as usual being the one to think of details. I'm usually like "Big plan first, details later." Tori's more like "Do everything first, we can't wait till later."  
"Good point, but can I ask from where?" asked Joe. Ryan looked around. He shrugged, and looked at Tori.  
"Any ideas?" I said to her.  
"Nope," she replied. Then she gasped and looked at the door. "Oh my God, what is THAT??" she whispered urgently.  
I looked behind me at the door. Something was there. Behind it, through the open door, I could see rain falling. And it was dark outside.   
The thing was dressed in a black cloak. That was all you could see. The figure approached our table, and sat down on the chair at the end. We all just stared.  
"Um...who are you?" Joe finally asked. The stranger removed his hood to reveal his face. He had black, spiky hair and stormy grey eyes.   
He took off the cloak completely to reveal a black shirt and pants, with red stripes on the ends.   
A woman with dark hair and brown eyes walked into the Center, followed by a greenish Rock Pokémon that I knew was a Larvitar. She sat at the table with the man.  
"Hello," she said. "My name is Lauren. You've already met my partner, James [A/N: This has nothing to do with the show's TR James]. This is our Pokémon, Larvitar." The Larvitar jumped up on the table and started to spin around. Then it fell down, and we all started laughing.  
"Would you mind terribly if we traveled with you for a while? At least, until we get out of Mt. Moon?" asked James  
"No problem," Tori said, and Joe and I nodded. But Ryan just kept looking out the window, at the rain. Weird, I thought. I wonder what's going on. Oh, well. I'd ask him about it later.  
The six of us stayed the night there, and woke up the next morning ready to travel. We left the Center with our Pokémon around seven, so as to get a good start through the cave.  
As usual, Tori had the map. She was the only one with enough skills to read the map, anyway. I was usually just too busy, and Ryan and Joe could never be sure they were holding the map the right way. So we let Tori handle it.  
Around 8:00 we entered the cave. Right away I saw something I wanted to catch. It was a Clefairy. I cornered it and pulled out a pokéball.  
"Let's do it, Dandeleon!" Dandeleon was my favorite Pokémon. She was green with yellow petals surrounding her face, and a dandelion leaf tail. She was a very powerful Grass Pokémon, and she was one of my best.  
"Deli!" she cried. She jumped in front of the Clefairy, and waited for my command.  
"Dandeleon, Sleep Powder, then Vine Whip!" From the petals came many yellow spores. They put the Clefairy to sleep easily. Then two vines appeared from behind the petals and attacked the Clefairy. Soon I saw it was weak enough to capture.  
I threw my pokéball at it and prayed. I squeezed my eyes shut and crossed my fingers. Then I heard it. The wonderful, beautiful ding sound of a Pokémon being caught. I'd finally managed to catch something!!!   
"YYYEEEEESSSSSS!!!!!!" I yelled. I jumped up and down holding the poke' ball.   
"Wow. Who knew she could get so excited?" asked Joe jokingly. Then he saw a Paras farther down the tunnel, and ran to catch it. He was a Bug Catcher, after all.   
We all watched him battle, and celebrated (sort of) when he caught it. Then we continued on.  
By the time we were halfway through the cave, I had a new Clefairy, Paras, Spinarak, and had even captured a Totodile someone had left there. Tori had a Zubat, Geodude, Onix, and a Machop. Joe had hid Paras and a Geodude, and Ryan had a Jigglypuff and an Onix. Lauren had a Meowth, and James had an Ekans. I was looking for something special, something unique and one-of-a-kind.  
We stopped to eat some lunch on a small plateau of higher rocks. Luckily, Ryan (who we'd put in charge of the food) had packed enough sandwiches. We ate until we were full, then talked for a while.   
"Where do you guys come from, anyway?" Ryan asked Lauren and James. If you ask me, he was suspicious of them. But that's only if you're asking me.  
"We...come...from...um...well, I come from Hireleti, but I can't remember where James comes from..." Lauren trailed off, and looked at James.  
"I come from...uh...Cirledei," said James.   
"That's funny," Ryan said. "I grew up in Cirledei, and I've never heard of you, James."  
"Well...uh...I left a long time ago. I can remember sitting in the sun every day, playing ball in big fields, and it never rained, and-" James was cut off by Ryan.  
"There's no way you came from Cirledei," he said confidently.  
"How do you know that, Ryan?" I asked. I was getting suspicious myself.  
"Because. First of all, Cirledei is the rainiest place I've ever seen, and the only big field in any city was the one used for Gym battles, if there was a field at all. I was lucky. I grew up in Orchard City, where there were tons of trees and small fields, and a huge gym, led by Peach, the Grass Trainer. I'm positive you never came from Cirledei." Ryan concluded his speech with a nod. He had a triumphant look on his face. Like he'd just won the League Championship.  
"Ok, you caught us," said James. Lauren shot him a dirty look.  
"Caught you?" asked Tori. "What do you mean, caught you?"  
"Well, brats, it's been very nice seeing all your wonderful Pokémon. Now we know which ones to steal. You see, we're not actually goody-goody Pokémon trainers..." Lauren removed a black piece of fabric from the front of her shirt, revealing a red R. "We're actually two top-ranking members of Team Rocket!" James did the same with his shirt.   
"Vitar! Larvitar!" cried Larvitar, and the three launched into a set of lines that would grow continually boring over time [A/N: If I continue this, you can be sure we run into them again!].  
"To soar to the stars and gain all power!" said Lauren.  
"To be the best of every hour!" said James.  
"To be the smartest and most clever!"  
"To swipe all the Pokémon forever and ever!"  
"Lauren!"  
"James!"  
"Team Rocket, we're off to steal the day! Give up now or we swear you'll pay!" they said together.  
"Larvitar!" said Larvitar.  
"I knew it!" said Ryan. "I knew you couldn't be trusted!"  
"Why didn't you tell us that before, genius?" asked Joe angrily. He pulled out a pokéball, ready to fight.  
"Oh, so it's a battle you want, is it?" asked Lauren. "Fine then, I'll battle you. Go, Mareep!" she released her Mareep to battle. It was a yellow sheep Pokémon. An Electric-type.  
"Ha! I pick Spinarak!" Joe said, and his Spinarak appeared.   
Now, let me tell you something about that Spinarak. Spinarak are usually green and black. Joe's Spinarak was orange and white. In other words, it was a rare-color Pokémon. I myself had a rare-color Caterpie.  
"Mareep, Spark attack!" called Lauren. Mareep let off a shocking (pun intended) static ball, which hit Spinarak hard. But Electric-types had no real strength against Bug-types.  
"Spinarak, Poison Fang!" called Joe. Spinarak jumped at Mareep and sank its fangs into Mareep's leg. Spinaraks are loaded with poison, which takes effect on a Pokémon quickly. I had seen Joe's Spinarak in battle myself.  
Mareep kicked, and sent Spinarak flying. But as it stood there it started to wobble. Joe saw this, and his trademark victory grin appeared.  
"Stop grinning at me, rodent," said Lauren. "There's no way I can lose!"  
"Wanna bet?" asked Joe smugly. He turned to his Spinarak. "Spinarak, Rolling Tackle!" Spinarak rolled itself along the ground, picking up speed as it went. Soon it was nothing but a blur.  
Out of nowhere it bashed into Mareep, which sent Mareep flying. That and the poison was too much for it. It stood for a moment, then wobbled and fainted.  
"I hereby declare Mareep no longer able to battle, making Joe the winner!" said Tori triumphantly. Joe jumped high into the air. I'd almost forgotten we were in a cave, there for a while. I'd also forgotten about James, until I saw him snatch one of Ryan's pokéballs. [A/N: Our stuff was sitting out from lunch.]  
"Hey!" I yelled. "Get back here with that!! Ryan, he's got one of your Pokémon!" I started chasing after him, everyone else (including Lauren and Larvitar) close behind. [A/N: We grabbed our stuff first.]   
"Get back here you thief!" Ryan screamed. It only made me run faster. Ryan had suspected them all along, and I hadn't realized it. Lauren got ahead of us and ran with James.   
We chased them through various passageways and tunnels, but eventually we lost them. I sat down on a rock, panting. "Sorry...about...your...Pokémon..." I said between gasps. Ryan looked down at the ground, then looked at me, smiling.  
"It's ok. I just now realized what they took." He started snickering, as though he'd told a good joke.  
"What? What did they take? What are you talking about?" Tori asked, still angry at Team Rocket.   
"They...they...hehehehehe...they took an empty pokéball!" He said, and burst out laughing. It was then that I saw it.  
It was small, brown, with white on its face and stomach. It had clear blue eyes, and its hands ended in claws used for digging. It was a Sandshrew. I slowly stood up and began to inch closer. I just had to catch it.  
Once I had it cornered, it was only a matter of time before Dandeleon got it weak enough to capture. [A/N: I'm sick of writing battle scenes, plus I'm WAY too busy!] I threw my pokéball at it, and it stayed almost right away.  
I showed it to the others, and Joe looked thoughtful. He did his grin thing again, and I looked at him.  
"What?" I asked. He only grinned wider.  
"Well, I heard that, if the Pokémon agrees, you can nickname it a name of your choice." He said. Now it was my turn to grin.   
"How about it, Sandshrew? Will you let me give you a nickname?" I asked. It nodded. But then I had a thought (hey, there's a first time for everything!). "Hey, I just thought of something!"  
"First time for everything," said Tori (did I predict this or what?).   
"Very funny," I said, giving her a Look. "Anyway, here's my thought: what if I can't come up with the right nickname?"   
"Don't look at me," they all said at once. They looked at each other. Then the four of us started laughing all over again.   
I looked down at Sandshrew, into its dark blue eyes. Then I came up with a plan.   
"I know how we can catch Team Rocket," I said.   
"How?" asked Tori.  
"Sandshrew can dig, right? Well, we can dig a tunnel to where Team Rocket is, then ambush them."  
"But all they stole was an empty pokéball," said Joe, confused.  
"They don't know that. They think they have one of Ryan's Pokémon. So we play into the act. Make like we really need that "Pokémon" back, and we'll stop at nothing to get it. Then, if we win, cool. If we lose, they're the victims of the practical joke of the century." I smiled, thrilled with my brilliant plan.   
"Actually, I actually think this might actually work, actually." Said Tori.  
"Only one "actually" per sentence, please. Otherwise it's too confusing," said Ryan. And with that we started off after Team Rocket.   
"Sandshrew, dig us to where Team Rocket is!" I said, and we followed it underground.   
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Soon enough we could hear their voices above us. Sandshrew stopped digging so we could hear what they were saying.  
"I don't know, Lauren, they might have followed us," said James.  
"Oh, come off it, James, they're nowhere near us! You worry too much!" Lauren yelled back.  
"Larvitar! Larvitar! Lar! Larvit! Vitar! Larvitar!" Larvitar said angrily, and I heard a sound like a wet rag being slapped against concrete. "LARVITAR!!!" I heard it yell.  
"Oh, shut up, you annoying little brat!" said Lauren, and I knew then that she had hit it with something.  
"Ok, Sandshrew, take us in," I whispered. It nodded and began to dig up into the open cave Team Rocket was sitting in.   
"Look, Lauren, it's them!" said James upon seeing us emerge from the ground. He jumped up from where he was sitting and pulled out a pokéball. "It's my turn to battle!" he cried.  
"Fine," said Tori, "I'll battle you." She chose a pokéball as well. "Let's battle, Butterfree!" Her butterfly Pokémon appeared in a burst of light.  
"Alright then, I'll use Kingler!" A giant red crab Pokémon appeared. It snapped its larger pincher hard, the noise echoing throughout the cave.  
"Butterfree, Stun Spore!" Tons of tiny yellow spores drifted down onto Kingler. It became paralyzed, unable to move.  
"Oh, great! Kingler, try a water gun!!" James yelled, but it didn't work. Kingler couldn't move an inch.  
"Yeah! Butterfree, Hyper Beam!" A huge, powerful blast of white-hot light exploded from Butterfree's mouth. It hit Kingler head-on, knocking it out easily.   
"Oh, no, we lost again!" Lauren cried, and James called back his Kingler. Tori called back her Butterfree, also.  
"Alright!" I said, turning to Team Rocket. "Now, we won, so you can give us back Ryan's Pokémon!"  
"Ha! Like we would actually do that!" James said evilly.  
"You're gonna regret that decision," I said, pulling out a pokéball. "Go after 'em, Hoothoot!" I released my Hoothoot, and it immediately started chasing and pecking Team Rocket.  
"This whole thing has been a catastrophe!" they cried together. Hoothoot came back after chasing them a considerable distance. It dropped an empty pokéball in Ryan's hands.   
"Thanks, Hoothoot," Ryan said, and I called it back.   
I felt something tugging on my sleeve, and I looked down into the face of Sandshrew. I knew the time had come to nickname it. But what name would I choose? Team Rocket's lines came floating back to me, as if in a dream.  
This whole thing has been a catastrophe...  
"That's it!" I cried, and the others looked at me strangely.  
"That's what?" asked Tori.  
"The perfect nickname for Sandshrew!" I said excitedly. It looked up at me, and I smiled wider.   
"Well, what is it?" asked Joe.  
I picked Sandshrew up and looked into its eyes again. They seemed to accept, already, the name I had chosen.  
"Catastrophe," I said, and Sandshrew hugged me, a symbol of acceptance. The others all clapped, and with that, we continued on our journey through Mt. Moon, and to the lands beyond.   
  
  
  
  
  
So, what do you think?? Review and tell me if I should write more of Erin's story...I might come up with the explanation of Erin and Tori's mysterious past...-pkchampion.  
  
  
  
  



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